Despite extraordinary efforts by leaders at all levels throughout the U.S. Army, dozens of soldiers are killed each year as a result of both combat and motor vehicle accidents. The objective of this study is to look beyond the events and symptoms of accidents which normally indicate human error, and instead study the upper-level organizational processes and problems that may constitute the actual root causes of accidents. Critical to this process is identifying critical variables, establishing causality between variables, and quantifying variables that lead to both resilience against accidents and propensities for accidents. After reviewing the available literature we report on our development of a System Dynamics model, which is an analytical model of the system that allows for extensive simulation. The results of these simulations

Julkaisun nimike Yritysten markkinatietoa koskeva kompetenssi ja sen vaikutukset vientitoiminnan laajentamisen nopeuteen ja onnistumiseen: ohjelmistoteollisuutta koskeva monimuotoinen tutkimusasetelma. Tiivistelmä Pienten ja keskisuurten yritysten (pk-yritykset) kansainvälistymistä on tutkittu yliopistoissa ja korkeakouluissa vuosikymmenien ajan. Aineistosta käy ilmi, että pk-yritykset ovat epäsuotuisassa asemassa monikansallisten yritysten aiheuttaman kasvavan kilpailun sekä tiedon, resurssien ja kompetenssin puutteen vuoksi. Lisätäksemme tietämystämme siitä, millainen kompetenssi mahdollistaa pk-yrityksien vientitoiminnan näistä rajoituksista huolimatta, on selvitettävä, millaisiin tietoihin ja valmiuksiin tällainen kompetenssi perustuu ja onko se yhteydessä vientitoiminnan laajentamisen nopeuteen ja onnistumiseen. Tätä tarkastellaan tässä tutkimuksessa kahden tutkimuskysymyksen kautta: 1) millainen tieto on erityisen merkityksellistä sen kannalta, miten pkyritykset voivat laajentaa vientitoimintaa, ja 2) miten markkinatietoa koskeva kompetenssi vaikuttaa vientitoiminnan laajentamisen nopeuteen ja onnistumiseen?

Despite extraordinary efforts by leaders at all levels throughout the U.S. Army, dozens of soldiers are killed each year as a result of both combat and motor vehicle accidents. The objective of this study is to look beyond the events and symptoms of accidents which normally indicate human error, and instead study the upper-level organizational processes and problems that may constitute the actual root causes of accidents. Critical to this process is identifying critical variables, establishing causality between variables, and quantifying variables that lead to both resilience against accidents and propensities for accidents. After reviewing the available literature we report on our development of a System Dynamics model, which is an analytical model of the system that allows for extensive simulation. The results of these simulations suggest that high-level decisions that balance mission rate and operations tempo with troop availability, careful management of the work-rest cycle for deployed troops, and improvement of the processes for evaluating the lessons learned from accidents, will lead to a reduction in Army combat and motor vehicle accidents. 2

Despite the efforts of driver’s training and other safety programs to make U.S. highways and roads safe, thousands of U.S. citizens are killed each year in traffic accidents that could have been prevented. A similar problem exists in the U.S. Army where several hundred soldiers have been killed in the last decade in preventable combat vehicle accidents while on operational deployments around the world. This study shows how System Dynamics analysis can be used to better understand the complex root causes of vehicle accidents. It shows how this approach has been used to better understand and predict non-combat related vehicle accidents in Iraq and how it can be used to explain how and why individual accidents take place. Finally, suggestions are provided as to how lessons learned from the modeling and study of combat vehicle accidents in the U.S. Army can be used to model, simulate, analyze and understand various aspects of vehicle safety on U.S. civilian roads and highways.